Microsoft has just announced that sales of their Xbox 360 console in the U.S. reached 750,000 units over the Black Friday period (November 18 – 23) , exceeding their own internal forecasts.
This is down from the 960,000 Xbox 360 consoles that the company sold during the same period last year, however, it compares favorably to the 400K Wii U and 300K Wii systems that Nintendo sold last week — although Nintendo has stated that their Wii U sales were supply constrained during the console’s launch week.
Microsoft also reported that Xbox Live Gold Subscription sales increased more than 50% over least year’s Black Friday week. Additionally, over 14 million people worldwide logged onto Xbox Live this last Sunday and there was a 43% increase in U.S. entertainment application usage over the service during the whole Black Friday week.
While not a confirmation, the dramatic increase in Xbox Live usage — and continued strong sales of the Xbox 360 — certainly lends some credibility to recent reports that Microsoft is looking to release a cheaper Xbox TV set-top box sometime next year in order to expand the audience for their entertainment services.
Source: Major Nelson
